Mitsubishi Eclipse GT: i have a 2000 eclipse that is cutting

Customer Question

i have a 2000 eclipse that is cutting out a idle to 2000 rpms and randum miss fire code on first i got cyl #1 miss fire so i changed all spark plugs and wires and valve cover gaskets cleared code and it came back on with cyl #3 miss fire so i changed cap and rotor and when i had rotor out took off plastic behind it because it was cracked but did not replace cover but when i took cover off oil can out from behind it could this be the problem i cleaned oil and put back to gether and cleaned code and now randon miss fire is comming up

The misfire moving around as well as the random misfire are certainly indicative of a problem in that distributor..... but for the sake of being thorough, how many miles are on the engine? When was the last timing belt change?

Given the condition just off idle, I'd almost want to verify the belt timing before doing anything else. These are 60k interval belts and they do fail... not knowing the history you should plan on replacing it regardless, but for now knowing the timing is right would be good. You could replace half the car but if the belt is off a tooth or two you will never get rid of that off idle problem but will run great as the speed increases (due to the increased timing advance assisting the advanced valve timing).

It still is more likely to be distributor related since the misfire seems to be moving around (no cylinder 2 misfire when you started, now it's there). Unless the wires were damaged when you pulled them back off the distributor cap to replace it, nothing else changed between the time when the misfire was not on #2.

If you have significant oil coming through the distributor, this will eventually lead to a problem, but small amounts (a teaspoon for example) is not that unusual or problematic. When you combine this leak if it is more than that with the cracked cover, trying a used distributor may not be a bad idea. If you used anything that is not highly evaporative to clean the distributor, be aware it will take a long time to dry out, and until that time the operation will be unpredictable.

The thing to remember here is that even though there is suspicious distributor behavior with new codes coming up after it is serviced, any problem that could have been caused during service would not be related to your initial issue since it was there prior to opening/cleaning the distributor. This is why the timing belt is a bit suspicious.

Before doing anything else, I would check that belt timing and make sure it is dead on for both cams. Both upper covers can be removed without too much issue (the rear cover has a single 12mm bolt from below, otherwise they are all easy to get to). The lower end you can leave assembled and just rotate the engine until the mark on the harmonic balancer is at the "T" on the timing scale on the lower cover.

If everything is perfectly lined up, then I would go back and double check your work on the distributor.... make sure no wires were damaged during removal for the cap replacement etc. If anything other than a rag was used, double check for moisture inside from th cleaning.

ok thank you i will check it tomorrow and i only used a rag to clean oil in distributor and i replaced all wires to thank you so much for your help i will let you know tomorrow how timming belt looks what time will you be on tomorrow

Not likely.... the crank sensor generates a repeating signal that is used for ignition and fuel timing.... if the signal has a problem, you lose spark entirely. Further, even if somehow you managed to have a problem on the reluctor for example, you would see paired failures (2/5 misfiring together for example) since there are only three triggers for all six cylinders.

Just for clarity.... you are using proper platinum plugs and not copper plugs or gimmick plugs (4 electrode, all that nonsense)?

Good..... the fuel pump is possible but again not super unlikely as it would affect all cylinders or at least "most" cylinders (sometimes the first injector is OK on low pressure then the remaining five are problems).

The thing to remember here is that you had different faults after you worked on it.... this means in almost all circumstances that something was affected by the work. The odds of the tune up fixing a misfire then suddenly having a different misfire and the fuel pump fail are not too good.

If you have the means, you can always test your pressure to find out.... I would not just put a fuel pump in as I think the odds of it being wasted money are high here. Typically when we see fuel pressure problems it would be the regulator, not the pump (though both can fail). If you get a pressure reading that is low then we can figure out which is the problem, but you need to be able to test the fuel pressure in line, not terminating at a gauge. If the whole system is not connected the test results will not be very useful.

I apologize for the delays, I am actually not in to work for another 2 hours but I can see when you post and I'm trying to not leaving you hanging too long so you don't think I abandoned you. I'll be in steady around 7ET.

I will tell you that...the things you have to go through to be an Expert are quite rigorous.

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